Here is today’s sustainability news, research and analysis for technology partners, management consultants, CIOs, chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and c-suite members.
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A. Sustainable Technology & Talent Developments
1. New Corporate Sustainability Reports: Our database tracking corporate sustainability reports and associated Net Zero goals now spans 96 companies and organizations. Today's additions include DoubleVerify, ESR Group Ltd., LoopMe and Vontier.
2. IT Services: GreenGeeks, which positions itself as an "eco-friendly web hosting provider," has launched a new Global Anycast DNS service to improve website performance and reliability, the company said.
3. ESG & GRC Software: Workiva has integrated CDP, a disclosure system for measuring environmental impacts, into the company's ESG software platform. The software allows customers to more rapidly complete CDP questionnaires, while managing sustainability data more efficiently and effectively, Workiva said.
4. Quarterly Financial Results: Workiva revenue was $150.2 million in Q1 of 2023, up 16% compared to Q1 of 2022, according to the ESG and reporting software provider. GAAP net loss for Q1 of 2023 was $46.2 million, compared with a net loss of $18.5 million for Q1 of 2022.
5. Research - Predictive Software & Renewable Energy: Predictive software could "reduce the amount of energy storage needed to transition to a economy that includes growth in renewable energy," according to a new study from the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
6. Consultancy - ESG Practice: Schellman, a provider of attestation and compliance services, has launched an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) practice led by Tom Andresen Gosselin. The company is based in Tampa, Florida -- a state where ESG business initiatives face pushback from Governor Ron DeSantis.
7. Talent - Energy Consulting: Team Energy of the United Kingdom has expanded its energy consultancy with four additional experts -- namely Esther Barker, Warren Pope, Case Streat and Georgina Wisby.
8. Hospitality - Energy Management Services: Onsite Utility Services Capital is pitching a PTAC Energy Optimization-as-a-Service solution to hotel owners. The service provides "capital for energy upgrades and charges a monthly service fee that is less than the hotel currently spends," the company asserts.
9. Financial Services - ESG Challenges and Opportunities: Bain & Company offers perspectives here.
B. Sustainability Partnerships, Alliances, M&A & Investments
1. M&A - Data Center Energy Management: KKR is acquiring CoolIT Systems, a provider of liquid cooling solutions for data centers, high-performance computing cloud service provider and even the desktop market. Financial terms were not disclosed.
2. Funding: Energy Impact Partners, a global investment firm custom-built to invest in the energy transition, has raised $111.9 million for its Elevate Future Fund I LP. Key investors include Microsoft Climate Innovation Fund and Amazon, among others.
3. Amazon & Sustainability Startups: Amazon is set to launch the second Amazon Sustainability Accelerator -- a 12-week program that supports 16 startups from across the UK and Europe. The startups create new recycling technologies or create products with reduced impact on the environment, Amazon said. The accelerator is "designed to help founders navigate the challenges of starting and scaling a sustainable business," Amazon said.
4. Partnership - EV Fleet Management: EnergyHub, a provider of distributed energy resource management systems (DERMS), and Synop, a charging and energy management software company for commercial EV fleets, are partnering to prepare "utilities and fleet owners for an EV-centric future." The partnership extends Synop’s fleet charging management capabilities to "enable fleet operators to generate additional revenue from grid services (V1G/V2G) and enables utilities visibility and control of charging assets," the companies added
5. Partnership - Real State: Enbridge Sustain and SEAN unveiled the development of a new 73-unit townhome and condo community in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. The community will be sustainably heated and cooled using a dedicated geothermal system designed, built, and operated by Enbridge, the companies said.
6. Partnership - Aerospace & Transportation: Alaska Airlines has presented a Bombardier Q400 regional turboprop to ZeroAvia that will be retrofitted with a hydrogen-electric propulsion system in an effort to expand the reach and applicability of zero emissions flight technology, the companies said.
C. Regional and Global Sustainability News
1. India - Costs vs. Climate Change: The country will spend an estimated 85.6 trillion rupees ($1.05 trillion) by 2030 to adapt its various industries to be compliant with climate change norms, a report by the country's central bank said, Reuters reported.
2. France - Power Distribution: Nexans is launching low-carbon distribution grid cables, the first on the French market, the company asserted. The technology can reduce greenhouse gas emissions of its low- and medium-voltage cables from 35% to 50%, depending on the products, Nexans said.
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